Korsaire Campaign
Korsaire Campaign * Takes place on the plane of Korsaire for which the campaign is named. The principle characters are Erebus Tartarus, Cyotes, and Jack "The Rock". Campaign Notes Session 1: On the Rocks of an Alien Coast Our story begins with Erebus Tartarus, Cyotes, and Jack "The Rock" waking on the southern most rocky peninsula of the isle of Haven. After a brief time spent trying to figure out the language of the region the group is met by King Ernesto Giswaldi, Gork, and their escort of 12 guardsmen. The King greets the newcomers and welcomes them to his town, promising them a position among his people and confiscating their money. Haven is run on cooperation and goodwill, money is not welcome there, or so he claims. Upon their arrival they find Haven is a disaster zone. A storm from 5 years prior apparently destroyed a good portion of the city and it has yet to recover. Ernesto Giswaldi lives a life of luxury as King and welcomes them to dine with him that evening. He quickly ends their conversation by suggesting the heroes find shelter for the evening as Gnolls are known to be a problem in the area. He also tells them that when they return tomorrow he will provide them with work. The heroes express their interest in killing Gnolls which the King takes to heart. The group takes shelter in a desperate and dank hovel. Cyotes runs into a strange bald man with black facial tattoos and a pale (almost transparent) complexion. He seems to have a strange interest in the group. After giving chase Cyotes eventually loses the man who had run quickly down a back street. Cyotes and Erebus Tartarus go on a hunting expedition, they find a group of 4 dead Gnolls, apparently killed by a bow. They eventually find the Gnoll's quarry, an exhausted gazelle which they kill and take back with them. Meanwhile, back at the hovel, Jack "The Rock", with intentions of sleep, is continually accosted by homeless men trying to steal his home and belongings. He shoos each one of them off intentionally or not, no one seems to want to share his home. Eventually a nicer man arrives, he provides brief details of himself, the city and the practices of the King. He also passes on word of the noble Jiang Stormrunner, a local folk hero and town scout. The party regroups at the hovel, Cyotes and Jack "The Rock" begin preparing the gazelle and reinforcing their home while Erebus Tartarus goes to join the King for a meal. Erebus Tartarus is rudely greeted and sent off by the town guards. He now realizes that he too is considered to be just another peasant. The party accidentally creates an incident as several desperate townspeople fight over the offal left over by the dead deer. Jack "The Rock" watches in horror as they viciously fight each other over raw intestines and sinew. Erebus Tartarus shares his plans to annihilate the current regime, the others agree that something has to change. The group is greeted by a jovial guard, enjoying the spectacle they created, and is told to meet the next morning for their assignment. The next morning the group meets at the town hall, there the King is assigning jobs. The party sees Jiang Stormrunner receive his task in a private audience while the others are publicly decried. Their assigned mission is to travel to the East to find and kill a group of Gnolls that Jiang Stormrunner had found there. The party travels to an old ruin where they clear out the 3 Gnolls standing watch. During the assault Jack "The Rock" spots a lone sentry, watching them in the distance who hides upon his discovery. They begin the process of claiming the ruin as their own, a planned base of operations for their campaign against the King. Eventually a fourth Gnoll sentry arrives, they quickly dispatch him as well. Outside they are greeted by Jiang Stormrunner who is very satisfied with their skills. He offers his assistance and advice in destroying the remainder of the Gnoll horde. During the evening and night Jiang Stormrunner shares his feelings about the King and some details of his past. He confides in Erebus Tartarus, and eventually the others, that he is a Bandit double agent, he however prefers to refer to himself as a Freedom Fighter. He welcomes the party to travel with him to meet Arlina the bandit leader and apparent wife of King Ernesto Giswaldi. In the morning the party successfully ambushes and destroys the Gnoll Leader and his minions. They then plan on finalizing their hold on the ruin and choose to then travel to the Bandit camp with Jiang Stormrunner after he returns to Haven to report in. He does not want to raise any suspicion caused by any prolonged absence from Haven, something their trek North to the Bandit Camp would cause. Session 2: The Road Tread by Outlaws The party, after some deliberation, decided that they needed to determine the relative skill of the town guard. Jiang Stormrunner advised that they attempt to ambush a patrol from Fort Boreas to see how capable they are. During this time Jiang Stormrunner returned to Haven to avoid and suspicion the King may have against them. While travelling to an ideal ambush site the group realized that they were being followed. Jack "The Rock" decided to lay in wait for the pursuer while the others went on ahead. After some time Jack "The Rock" surprised the observer and chased him off towards the east. Upon regrouping the party became nervous that attacking the guardsmen would be reported back to the king. Jiang Stormrunner arrived and advised that he did not know the spy, nor did he think he worked for Ernesto Giswaldi. The party, with Jiang Stormrunner's supervision, ambushed a patrol and disposed of their bodies. They then traveled to Fort Boreas. Once they reached the fort the party was welcomed inside as the new cooks. It seems that the previous ones had been murdered by Gork. While there Cyotes realized that some of the herbs stored in the kitchen could be used to make a powerful diuretic and emetic. He poisoned that evening's meal, warning everyone in the party. He and Jiang Stormrunner did not eat though Jack "The Rock" and Erebus Tartarus ignored his warning and ate anyway. Jack "The Rock" attempted to force himself to vomit but found himself to be unable, despite forcing his fist down his throat. Cyotes managed to make a single dose of antidote and gave it to Erebus Tartarus. Eight hours later Jack "The Rock" managed to maintain his relative health by expelling the poison in a noxious fart. This gas became the catalyst which set off the rest of the garrison. The guardsmen were quickly dispatched while they emptied all of their body cavities. The party also collapsed the roof of the armory, stole the garrison payroll and burned it to the ground. The party traveled Northwest towards the bandit camp. They encountered and killed Giant Fire Beetles who ambushed them during the night. A day later they arrived at the bandit camp and met Arlina. Cyotes quickly made a fool of himself with a "piss poor" mating display. Arlina explained more about the world or Korsaire and her role in it. She revealed to them that there is a way off the island using a crystal. This crystal is currently in the possession of Ernesto Giswaldi. She also revealed that she and Ernesto were the first individuals through the portal, a portal which was originally opened by an old Gnome named Caars the Archivist who had long ago returned to the mainland. Arlina also revealed that the strange tattooed man was likely not in the King's service, he has been watching newcomers to the Isle of Haven since her initial arrival. The party planned to attacked Haven. The bandit force would lead them out of the town while they infiltrated the city and killed Ernesto Giswaldi. By destroying Fort Boreas, the party greatly improved their odds of arriving to their staging point. They encountered Gork and his personal guard at the ruins of Fort Boreas. Using superior tactics they eliminated their foes and took Gork as a captive. Jack "The Rock" was gravely wounded during the battle though he survived due to Cyotes' intervention. Session 3: The Blade Behind the Bandit Banner Our heroes, seconds after battle, decided to kill their Half-Orc hostage, they intended to use him as bait. When the party finally returned to their base of operations they went over a plan with Arlina and Jiang. After extensive arguing they agreed to spread false rumors among the populace of Haven and lure the bulk of the army away. Jiang would lead a defensive force at the ruin while the trio invaded Haven and infiltrated the manor through the sewers. While in Haven the party once again argued about the best course of action. Jack "The Rock" went into the sewers alone, in a huff. Erebus and Cyotes intended to stay above ground and create a distracting ruckus. Jack "The Rock" discovered a slumbering aquatic monster in the sewers and eventually made his way inside manor after some tribulation. He eventually dispatched the remaining few guards (made fewer by the actions of his comrades outside), and killed King Ernesto. There he discovered his lock box, which contained some gold, a small green crystal (which he hid on his person), and several ornate books. On the desk they discovered Ernesto's will which named his son, Luscion, King of Haven upon his death. During the battle, Zero, the Sprite, was killed by the mysterious tattooed man. Eventually Arlina and Jiang were brought back to Haven as prisoners, having lost the battle. When the guards found the King dead they immediately released them. Erebus spoke with Arlina privately regarding her motives, they ended their conversation on better, though not friendly, terms. Once Luscion calmed, he declared his idol, Jiang Stormrunner, King Regent in his stead. Session 4: From the Ashes... Erebus Tartarus began rifling through the books found in Ernesto's chambers. He discovered they were written by Caars the Archivist and was an account of his travels and studies regarding the portals. Per Arlina's direction they set out to leave the island. Though Jiang was unhappy that they were leaving so soon he wished them well, provided them with tokens of friendship in Haven and provided them with his now outdated map. The party set out and arrived at the old bandit stronghold. They informed them of the victory at Haven. The remaining rebels set out in the morning while the party continued North-east towards the cave Arlina had mentioned. There they found an ancient complex and managed to make use of the old constructs to raise a bridge to the mainland. During his experimentation with the Scrying chamber, Erebus attempted to kill his guard escorts. He also took the time to destroy the now abandoned bandit camp. His use of the Scrying chamber did not go unnoticed however, the Tattooed Man watched him intently throughout his exploration. During this time Cyotes became increasingly agitated, it was only once Erebus removed the scrying orb that he began to calm. During their time in the ruin Erebus also collected documentation written in a strange language he could not identify. The party reunited outside of the complex and began crossing the bridge to the mainland. After a few hours they glanced back. They saw that the guards lay dead at the bridge's start. The Tattooed Man rapidly charging towards them. Session 5: Destiny 80 feet above the Drink Pending Category:Campaigns Category:Korsaire